US President Donald Trump says the United States soon will sign a minerals and natural resources deal with Ukraine as negotiations with Russia and Ukraine to end the war continue.
Trump told reporters at the White House on March 20 that his efforts to achieve a peace deal for the country were going "pretty well" after his talks this week with the leaders of the warring countries.
"We're doing very well with regard to Ukraine and Russia. And one of the things we are doing is signing a deal very shortly with respect to rare earths with Ukraine," Trump said.
SEE ALSO: Inside The Ukraine-US Minerals Deal (It's Not What You Might Think)As Trump made the comments, Russian forces attacked civilian infrastructure in Odesa, causing damage and injuring three people, including a girl, the regional governor said.
"The enemy massively attacked Odesa and the region with strike drones,” Governor Oleh Kiper said. “There is damage to civilian infrastructure, including a residential high-rise building, a shopping center, and shops," he wrote on Telegram.
Kiper said large fires broke out in three locations as a result of the attack.
There also was a report from the Kursk region of Russia saying that Ukrainian forces attacked the gas distribution station in Sudzha. The independent media outlet Sota published a photo on Telegram showing a large fireball.
A Ukrainian military Telegram channel posted the same photo, citing media reports about "a successful strike on the Sudzha gas transport system through which the enemy used to transport gas to Europe."
There was no official word on the incident from Ukrainian government officials. Moscow also did not report the incident.
The station was the only point through which Russian gas had passed on its way to Europe until Ukraine declined to extend a transit agreement in January.
Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier on March 20 ordered Ukrainians in Ukraine's occupied territories to get a Russian passport by September 10 or leave. The ultimatum applies to Ukrainians in occupied Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhya, Tymofiy Mylovanov, Ukraine's former economy minister, said on X.
Trump this week held separate talks aimed at reaching a cease-fire with Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr.
SEE ALSO: Trump Suggests US Ownership Of Ukrainian Power Plants After Russia Launches New Strikes Despite PledgeThose talks fell short of securing a full 30-day cease-fire but resulted in Putin agreeing to stop Russian attacks on energy infrastructure for 30 days. Zelenskiy said after his talks with Trump that he would also accept such a pause.
"We would love to see that (war) come to an end, and I think we're doing pretty well in that regard," Trump said.
Ukraine and the United States earlier this month agreed to conclude a comprehensive agreement for developing Ukraine's critical mineral resources. Efforts to seal the deal fell apart on February 28 after a heated exchange between Trump and Zelenskiy at the White House.
Trump and Zelenskiy agreed on March 19 to work together to end Russia's war with Ukraine in a phone call that the White House described as a "fantastic."
It was unclear if the terms of the minerals deal have changed. An earlier version did not include the security guarantees that Zelenskyy has insisted upon.
It also envisaged the Ukrainian government contributing 50 percent of the proceeds for sales of state-owned natural resources to a U.S.-Ukraine managed reconstruction investment fund.
Trump on March 20 also signed an executive order to boost US domestic production of lithium and other minerals critical to the production of batteries for electric cars and electronics.
The order also directs federal agencies to create a list of US mining projects that can be quickly approved as well as which federal lands could be used for minerals processing.